Economic activity in US services sector up for 17th month in row

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - Economic activity in the US' services sector grew for the 17th month in a row in October with the rate of expansion setting a record for the fourth time this year, according to data released Wednesday.

The ISM non-manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI), also known as the ISM Services PMI, soared 4.8 percentage points from the previous month to an all-time high of 66.7%, said the survey released by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM).

The market expectation for the index, which indicates the overall economic condition of the non-manufacturing sector, was a 62% reading, while the index came at 61.9% in September.

The ISM's business activity index was 69.8% last month, an increase of 7.5 percentage points from 62.3% in September.

Its services employment index, on the other hand, came in at 51.6%, down 1.4 percentage points from 53%.